Body of Stars by Laura Walter (free ebook reader for iphone TXT) 📕

“Mom, you promised. You gave me your word you wouldn’t lock me up once I changed, or follow me around like I’m a child.”

Mrs. Hahn paused. “That’s true. Girls need their independence. Your father always said that the second you passed to your adult markings, that was it. No more school, or parties, or anything until the danger passed. But I won’t have my daughter kept a prisoner.”

“Exactly.” Cassandra put a hand on her mother’s arm. “Besides, Deirdre stayed out after dusk, and I heard she flirted with men. You know we’re smarter than that.”

Ms. Hahn’s gaze flitted around the room to the granite-topped console table, the coat tree, the polished floors. She took in these things of beauty and then turned to look at me.

“We’re going to see Julia, my brother’s teacher,” I said. “She might have some insight into Cassie’s future career.”

That did it, this reference to Cassandra’s mysterious career markings. Mrs. Hahn took a deep breath and moved away from the door.

“Stick to the busy streets. Right to Julia’s, and then straight back afterward,” she said. “If anyone comes near you, don’t be afraid to scream. Go for the groin if it comes to that. Do you understand, girls?”

We agreed. As we headed out the door, Cassandra and Marie began chatting about various career options. This was, I realized, the first time I had ever known Cassandra to take such an active interest in her future career. Maybe I didn’t know her as well as I’d thought. I certainly didn’t know, not then, that she’d go on changing until a time came when I couldn’t recognize her at all.

*   *   *

We kept a brisk pace all the way to the interpretation district. After we passed under the Future as Fate arch and hurried through the cobblestone streets, Julia’s townhouse came into view. Red brick, three stories high, the narrow facade—a place where the future was made an ordered thing.

When Julia opened the door, I pushed Cassandra forward.

“This is my friend Cassie,” I said. “She just passed to her adult markings.”

“I can see that. Congratulations, Cassie.” Julia wore a soft gray robe over her clothes, and she fidgeted with its belt as she considered us. “But I don’t work on Sundays, and this isn’t an emergency.”

“Please? We need a reading.”

Julia took in my expression and softened.

“All right,” she said. “I’ll do a quick reading and then have you on your way.”

Julia led Cassandra to her office while Marie and I waited in the parlor. I passed the time by twisting my hands together in my lap.

“You’re panicking,” Marie said in a quiet voice. She reached over to rest her hand on mine. “Cassie will be fine.”

“But you know how she is.” It felt traitorous to describe Cassandra as I sometimes saw her—impulsive, wild, boastful—so I didn’t. “I’m worried about her, that’s all.”

“She’ll be fine,” Marie repeated.

She was too naïve to understand the risks. It was probably due to being sheltered by her modest mother. I knew I wouldn’t be the same if my mother had always covered every inch of her skin and refused to work or socialize in a mixed-gender environment. While Marie’s mother didn’t compel her to dress modestly, other aspects of the lifestyle, such as the focus on traditional gender roles, crept into my friend’s daily routine. Marie attended a domestic arts club at school, and she could do things I couldn’t, like follow sewing patterns or set a table with formal place settings.

“I just want things to stay the same,” I said.

Marie shook her head. “It’s already too late for that.”

I fell silent. From the corner of the parlor came the ticking of the grandfather clock. I focused on that sound, waiting and waiting until the office door opened down the hall and Cassandra reappeared, her eyes shining.

“Julia says my career will be something high-end, most likely in medicine,” she told us. “She thinks these markings can make a case for me to get into medical school.”

“That’s great.” I’d never known Cassandra to dream of becoming a doctor, but if her markings suggested she could, that changed everything. “Did she see anything else?”

“Nothing we didn’t already find on our own. My future husband isn’t anyone I know yet, so I’ll have to wait for that.”

I looked at my friend and pictured the life she believed she had coming to her—professional success, financial security, the love of an as-yet-unknown husband. Cassandra would surely take that future for granted. She wouldn’t think twice about whether it could be ruined.

“Wait here,” I told my friends. “I’ll be right back.”

I walked down the hallway to Julia’s office. She was at her desk, staring at the doorway like she’d been waiting for me. Maybe she could sense my nerves, how my heart beat hard and fast.

“Celeste. Please come in.”

I took a seat. “Cassie seems happy. You told her exactly what she wanted to hear.”

“I told her the truth.”

“Maybe you should also ask her to be careful.” As I spoke, my gaze was drawn to the framed document hanging behind the desk. It was written in Latin.

“What’s that?” I asked.

Julia glanced over her shoulder. “It’s my degree from university.”

“I didn’t know you went to university.” While professional interpreters had to be licensed and adhere to a set of guidelines, they didn’t usually pursue higher education. Interpretation was an art form that didn’t fit into a specific academic discipline.

“I once thought I’d be something else. Maybe an engineer. That’s what my father hoped I’d become.” She laughed a little. “And before that, my mother wanted me to be a homemaker like her. I have five brothers and sisters. Can you imagine? But that future died once I passed to my adult markings. It was marked on me plain as anything: no marriage, no children.”

“That’s awful.” I estimated Julia was in her mid-thirties, still within childbearing age, but I’d never wondered whether she was fated to have children. I supposed I’d assumed it just hadn’t happened